PSU wrestlers have strong day at West Point invite
From Mirror reports
UNIVERSITY PARK — The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team sent 22 wrestlers to West Point on Sunday for the Black Knight Invitational with nine of them returning home with individual titles.
Penn State had or shared nine of the titles and 18 of Penn State’s 22 wrestlers placed.
Luke Lilledahl, ranked No. 33 at 125, rolled to the championship in West Point. He beat Charlie Farmer of Army in the title bout, a 19-4 tech fall (5:13).
Beau Bartlett, ranked No. 3 at 141, won the championship. In the finals, he pinned No. 28 Todd Carter of Gardner Webb to close out the bout, getting the fall at the 5:57 mark.
Sophomore Shayne Van Ness, ranked No. 2 at 149, rolled to the title at 149. . He took care of Rutgers’ Andrew Clark in the title bout, posting a 19-4 technical fall (7:00).
Tyler Kasak, ranked No. 4 at 157, won the crown at 157. In the finals, he bested teammate Alex Facundo, 5-2, to take the title.
Mitchell Mesenbrink, ranked No. 1 at 165, roared to the title. He rolled to a 17-2 tech fall (4:50) over No. 14 Gunner Filipowicz in the finals to claim the Black Knight.
Levi Haines, ranked No. 2 at 174, advanced to the finals at 174 and shared the crown with teammate Matt Lee.
Since teammate vs. teammate results do not count, the title bout was not contested. Matt Lee advanced to the finals at 165 and shared the title with teammate Levi Haines.
Graduate Carter Starocci, ranked No. 1 at 184, advanced to the finals and shared the crown with teammate Zack Ryder.
Josh Barr, ranked No. 23 at 197, won the title at 197. In the finals where he took on another teammate, Lucas Cochran. Barr posted a strong 10-1 major over Cochran in the finals to win the title.
Greg Kerkvliet, ranked No. 2 at 285, rolled to the finals at 285 and shared the crown with teammate Cole Mirasola.
Kurt McHenry took third at 125. Conner Mirasola finished third at 197. Senior Timothy Levine took fifth at 133. Redshirt freshman Kyison Garcia placed sixth at 133.
Mesenbrink was named the tournament’s Outstanding Wrestler.
The Nittany Lions return to dual-meet action on Sunday, Dec. 8, when they visit Leigh for a 2 p.m. dual meet in Bethlehem.